Kora Lane sat at her desk, reading over her latest article. This wasn’t the speed of her favorite stories to cover. She loved the ones with some sort of intrigue, some possibility of something illegal or a deeper, hidden story. Something secret to uncover and shock the reader with. This current article was basically a human interest piece, which she found boring, though she thought she had managed to spice up the part about the shop owner having a side romance with his supplier.
Her boss, Davis, knocked on her door and walked in. “Got something for you.”
“Oh?” She slid aside the article, marked in red where she wanted changes in the layout, and let her pen hover over the top blank sheet of her notepad.
“Ozark,” he said. “Up in the mountains. We got a report that there’s a house of men living there.”
“I like where this is going so far.” She smirked and looked back up at him after making a quick note. “Continue.”
“It’s suspected that there’s some illegal moonshine activity happening there. They have a business. Bear Natural Honey, and that might be their cover.”
“Moonshine and honey. I like that. What else?”
“That’s it. This one is all on you. The witness left an anonymous tip over the voicemail, so I can’t even give you his info. I don’t have any to give.”
“Okay.” She tapped her pen against her lip. “This is definitely something I’ll check out. I’ll find out what’s going on up there in the mountains and bring it all into the light. I wonder if there’s any gay activity going on… House full of men, all living together?”
“I don’t want to know how you’ll find out, but I know you’ll find something.” Davis rapped his knuckles twice on her desk and walked out.
Kora started making notes immediately. She’d go to this house and find out what the real story was. Then she’d find a way to make it interesting to sell more papers.
She drove up to the location listed on the web site for Bear Natural Honey. Unless they had separate business offices and processing facilities—unlikely for such a small operation—then this would be the place. She saw several big buildings, the bees buzzing around hives off to one side, and knew she had the place.
With her notepad and digital recorder in hand, she maneuvered her heeled shoes over the gravel to the front door. She smoothed down the skirt of her business suit and knocked, her friendliest smile in place on her face.
A large man opened the door. She took note of his features to write them down for later. Short black hair, dark skin, very good looking, very muscular. He cared about his appearance and his body. What could that mean for their cover up? Or was this a sign of the activities taking place with the other men? Well, she could certainly handle flirting with this fine specimen to see if he responded to her, a female.
“Can I help you?”
Mmm, and a slight middle eastern accent as well. Nice. “Yes, hello, my name is Kora Lane, and I’m with the Ozark Daily News. I’d like to talk to you about your business.”
“Oh, umm.” He looked behind him into the house. “Usually Slade takes care of this sort of thing.”
“Great. Is Slade here? Is he the CEO of the company?”
“He’s not here right now. He’s, umm, I guess the CEO. We think of him as our leader.”
How cute. This man seemed like the type that would talk. Just uncertain enough that she could convince him to spill everything. “Well, if this Slade isn’t here, I guess you’re my man.” She winked at him.
His eyes widened slightly for an instant, then a slow smile crept over his face. He looked her over, but he was subtle about it. No blatant gawking at her chest. He was classier than that, she could see that now. He was downright sexy, too. Normally, she would never think about sleeping with a source for info, especially if he was the intended target for the story, but him? She wouldn’t mind taking him to bed to pump him for info.
“Well, come on in.” He stepped aside and gestured toward a living room.
She noticed immediately that the place was much cleaner than she expected. “Five men live here?”
He chuckled. “We have a very good live-in housekeeper.”
“That explains it then.” She took a seat on the edge of the couch, turning to face him.
“You should have seen what it used to look like. Jasmine is a godsend.”
“And she lives here, too?’ Kora made a note of this.
“She’s Knox’s girlfriend.”
Girlfriend. Got it. “Do all your girlfriends live here with you?”
“Just her. Though Blair is here so much she might as well.”
“Is Blair your girlfriend?”
He shook his head. “Not mine. She’s Daxton’s.”
“Got it. First things first.” She had her pen ready. “I do like to record my interviews in case I miss something important.” She patted her suit pocket. “I use a digital recorder. Just wanted to tell you for full disclosure. What’s your full name?”
“Amir Thorne.”
“Good name.” She gave him a half smile. “You could be a movie star with a name like that. Or a porn star by the looks of you.” She winked at him and he smiled to himself. “And the name of your company?”
“Bear Natural Honey.” He patted his jeans and brought out a business card. “I usually keep a few of these on me.”
He handed it to her and she looked it over. Professionally made, well designed. Impressive. There was his name and his title, quality control.
“Quality control?” she asked.
“I make sure all our products are the highest quality possible through testing and industry standards.”
She nodded. “And can you tell me what it is you do here on the grounds?”
“We make honey. We have the bee hives and a processing center. Recently, we’ve started branching out to soaps and other skin care products. We pack it and ship it from here, too. Our offices are here. What’s this story about, exactly?”
She leaned in closer. “Well, I’ll tell you because you seem like such a decent guy. My boss thinks there’s illegal things happening up here. Now, I personally don’t believe him. But, I think this story is a good way to get out the truth and clear your name.”
He nodded slowly. “Well, there’s certainly nothing illegal going on. We have lots of employees that make the honey. Slade does the paperwork and Dax helps him and does sales. Our products are sold in local markets all over the Ozark area.”
“Great. Do you have any samples? I’d love to include a review in my story. You know, to help you out.” She winked at him again.
“Sure. How about a tour? That way you can see for yourself that everything is on the up and up.”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t even had to talk him into it. “That would be lovely.”
* * *
* * *
If they were making moonshine, it would be in big stills. Not so easy to hide. She’d look for any room that might contain such equipment. Maybe it was stored in part of the warehouse. Could those stills blow up like meth labs did? She’d have to check on that. If that was the case, they’d put them in the warehouse and probably not in the house.
She stood, glanced down to make sure the little green light was still on on her digital recorder, and followed him out of the room.
They didn’t spend much time in the kitchen or bathroom. These were basic rooms and she saw nothing much of interest there. In the office, though, he took her in and started explaining.
“This is where Slade and Daxton mostly work.” He gestured to the two desks. “They do all the paperwork here. Inventory, ordering of supplies, payroll, taxes.” He indicated several thick binders as he spoke.
There was one labeled “taxes,” but what did that mean? Its existence wasn’t proof. Was there anyway she could explore this room without him around?
“No reason to think anything illegal is happening. We have all the paperwork right here.”
She nodded. “I see that.”
He took her out through the back door and into the large processing facility. She looked around carefully. Never knew when you might discover a health code violation or some employee situation run amok. She kept her eyes peeled for anything that would make a good story.
As they walked, though, nothing seemed to be out of place. Maybe they were all straight and legal. Well, that wouldn’t make a great story. What angle could she take? Lonely men find love in the Ozarks? Honey attracts local ladies? Ugg. Those headlines bored even her. And if only two had girlfriends between them, was it even true?
Maybe there was a hardship story she hadn’t explored. Local men team up to make their dreams come true? Unlikely businessmen turn bees into fortunes? Maybe. It was unusual to find a group of five men living together and running a business.
“That’s basically it,” Amir said, gesturing to the grounds around him.
“Could we maybe go back inside to talk more?”
“Umm, sure, I guess. Did you still have questions?”
“I have nothing but questions.”
They went back inside and returned to the living room.
“I want to find the best angle for this story,” she said. “Can you tell me about how you got started?”
“Okay. I guess it started with Slade. He wanted to have a business, and he was always intrigued by bees and honey, so he and Beck—he’s one of our primary beekeepers, him and his brother, Knox—they researched bees and honey production. Seemed like a good fit. They brought on Knox and then found me and Daxton. We’d been friends for a long time, so it seemed natural to go into business together. Then, we started making money and it became a bigger production. We added the facility and started spreading out.”
“Wow, that’s fascinating.” She scribbled notes quickly. Lifelong friends, went into business together and found success. That could be a good story. “What made you want to live together?”
He shrugged. “Convenience. When we started looking for land for the facility, we found this place. It had been some sort of farm and the building housed chickens I think. The house was here and it was big enough. None of us were tied down with families or anything and we were pretty young. We figured, since we were working together and had to be here so much anyway, it made sense.”
“But you’re not related? Not even fraternity brothers or something like that?”
“I think Slade was in a frat. Dax, maybe, but I don’t know because we didn’t go to school together. Beck and Knox didn’t go at all, but they’re related. Brothers, like I said.”
“Right.” She nodded. “And none of you are… lovers?”
He pulled his eyebrows down and leaned back an inch. “No.”
“Never know.” She winked. “All these men, living together. Nothing wrong with a little action after work.”
He took in a deep breath. “Well, no. We’re all straight.”
She nodded and jotted this down. So it was a bachelor house. “None of you are married now?”
“No. A few serious relationships, maybe. Like I said, Knox’s girlfriend Jasmine lives here. But Beck just broke up with someone and Slade and I are single.”
“The eternal bachelors?”
“I sure hope not. I’d like to have a family one day.”
She caught his eye and gave him a genuine smile. He’d make some beautiful babies, that was for sure. And a smart businessman, too? He was a good catch. Maybe she’d even consider casting her own line out. Her earlier idea of sleeping with him to get closer and get insider information wasn’t out of the question. Or maybe she’d just sleep with him for fun. Either way. She couldn’t go wrong.
She decided it was worth a shot. “Would you maybe want to go out for coffee sometime?” She smiled at him again, her heart fluttering slightly as he considered.
Then he broke into a smile. “Are you going to write about that, too?”
“Not unless the coffee suddenly explodes and you jump in to save me and put out the flames.”
He chuckled. “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. Coffee. When?”
“When are you free? Later this week?”
“Sure. You have my card. Let’s make it Friday. Call me with a time.”
“Okay. I will.” She smiled again and stood, smoothing her skirt down. “Thank you so much for your time, Amir. Can’t wait for Friday.”
He walked her to the door and stood there, watching her drive away.
* * *
* * *
“How’s that story on the Ozark moonshiners?” Davis asked Thursday morning.
Kora sighed. “Well, if you mean the story about the charming businessmen living together like brothers to run their dream business of making and selling honey and honey-related products, it’s going great. Finding nothing illegal, though.”
“Gotta be something.”
“I’m still on it. Having coffee tomorrow with one of the men. But, I’ve toured their place. There’s nothing there. No place to hide a whole distillery, at least.”
He knocked on her desk. Why did he always do that?
“Keep on it. I have faith in you.”
That Friday, she sat across from Amir in a local coffee shop. She watched him pull a small bottle of honey from his pocket to put in his coffee.
“Are you just that sweet that you carry honey on you?” she asked, smiling at him over her cup.
He laughed. “I guess I’m slightly biased. I like our stuff the best. And I never drink coffee without honey, so I have no choice but to supply my own.”
“Or convince the owners of the shop to only have Bear Natural Honey available for their customers.”
“Now that,” he said, pointing at her, “is exactly why I’m in quality control and not sales. That’s something Dax would think of. I should suggest that, actually. Even if we gave them honey or gave them a deep discount. It’d be like giving out free samples.”
“Exactly.”
He took his phone out from his pocket. “Excuse me one second. I want to text this to Dax. He’s better at doing the actual talking.”
She waited until he put the phone away. “You seem pretty smooth with words yourself.”
“Do I? Years of my father’s coaching, I suppose.”
“Did you grow up in this country?”
He took a sip of coffee and nodded. “I did. My parents came from Iran years before I was born. But that didn’t stop my father from putting me through the best schools and making sure I knew all about my middle eastern heritage.”
“That’s important, don’t you think?”
“Oh yes, absolutely. Until they expected me to live as they wanted instead of living my own life. If it were up to them, I would have been married years ago to the woman they chose and working with my father in his accounting firm.”
“But you didn’t want to do that?”
“I’m not into numbers like that. Though, his firm does do a lot of our accounting. You should call him, maybe. For your story. He could validate our numbers.”
“That might not be a bad idea. But you know”—she leaned forward, closer to him—“it’s the stories of illegal stuff that really sell.”
“Sorry I can’t help you there.”
“You don’t happen to have any honey rivals or anything?”
“Oh sure, there’s always competition in business.”
She nodded and glanced down at her recorder. The green light still blinked. Not that he was giving her anything good.
“So, what about you? Did you always want to be a reporter, or did your parents force you into it?”
“Reporting found me, I think. I started out writing stories about my stuffed animals when I was a kid and investigating anything that happened around the neighborhood. A house gets toilet papered, a car tire is slashed, a bike is stolen. But when the local paper did a story on me and all my little stories—I’d actually managed to give some valuable information to the police one time—that’s when I really fell in love and knew I had to become a reporter. The truth needs to be out there, you know? People deserve to know what’s going on around them.”
“You don’t believe in keeping any secrets?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Not if it concerns the community or could affect people.”
“That must be difficult.”
“What?”
“Getting people to give up all their secrets.”
She winked. “It’s not as hard as you think. Wouldn’t you want to tell me all your secrets?” she asked in a playfully flirty voice, then laughed.
“I don’t know.” He let his gaze roam over her. “Maybe.”
“So you do have secrets, then?”
“Just one.”
* * *
* * *
Kora paced in her office, thinking. She hit play again on her recorder and listened to their conversation. The one about having secrets. He’d admitted to having a secret. That had to be something with the business. He was giving her a hint. The look in his eyes when he’d said it. Almost like he wished he could tell her.
She had to find out more, had to see what his secret was. Maybe if she snuck back to the house in the middle of the night, she could break into the facility and find something. Was there a basement in the building? Only one way to find out, right?
That night, she dressed all in black and tied her dark hair back into a ponytail. She had her phone charged, her pocket flashlight tucked away, and her recorder ready. She parked down the road a little ways and traipsed through the woods beside their driveway, staying in shadows and out of sight. Who knew what their schedule was or how late they stayed up? It was almost 2 a.m., but to someone running their own business, that was an early night if you had paperwork to do.
When she got closer, she saw that there were no lights on in the house. The facility, too, was dark. She crept closer and watched from the trees. There was a figure outside the processing facility. Was it one of the men?
As she watched, she thought the figure looked too small to be one of the men. She’d only met a few of them, but three of the five were huge and judging from the photo hanging on the wall, so were the other two.
Something about this didn’t seem right. The figure didn’t have a flashlight. What could he or she be doing without a flashlight out there, walking around the building? Then she saw something in the person’s hand. A bottle of some sort?
She pulled out her phone and started filming. It might be nothing, but if it was something, she wanted proof.
She was watching through the screen, squinting to try to make out what the person was doing when there was a bright flash of light. Then, there were flames.
The fire started small. Just a spot by the person’s feet, but it quickly spread. There was enough light now to see that the person was female. And she held a gas can. That’s what she’d been doing. Walking around, dousing the building with gas.
The flames spread along the line of gas. The woman took off running toward the woods. Then, something happened that Kora could not believe.
As she watched, she saw the five men run out of the house. All of them charged forward quickly, angry with rage, heading for the building. She saw Amir, shirtless, and admired his bare chest for a split second until it vanished. Almost all at once, the men leapt forward and became bears.
Their skin sprouted thick fur, their clothing fell to the ground in shreds, and they roared. She looked back at the girl who’d set the fire, horrified for a moment that she was about to be attacked by five bears, but then the girl, too, changed. She became a bear and took off running into the woods.
Soon, they were all out of sight. Kora sat there, stunned, for a long time. She still held the phone in case they’d come running back, but the flames grew and spread.
She should call someone. 911, the cops, anyone. But tell them what? That she’d just seen six people turn into bears and run into the woods? They’d think she was crazy. She stopped filming and went back to the start of the video.
There was the woman, walking around, pouring gas along the building. Then the flames, then the men, then the bears. She hadn’t imagined it. She hadn’t been seeing things. Amir, his friends, and this girl, all turned into huge black bears and ran off.
Part of her thought she’d wake up any minute. This had to be a dream because people didn’t turn into bears. They just didn’t. Plus, there was a building on fire in front of her and she wasn’t doing anything about it. She watched the flames, watched everything Amir and his friends had worked for go up in smoke.
Then someone came back. She took out her phone again. One of the bears was there. He stood up, becoming human again. He was naked and ran toward the house.
Surely, he would call the fire department. They’d come. She had to leave. Now. If someone knew she was there, she might be seen as an accomplice. At the very least, she’d have to answer for why she sat there and didn’t call someone or try to put out the fire when it was still small.
She got up, tucked her phone into her pocket, and ran through the woods back to her car. She wondered, though, if they could smell her. How good was a bear’s sense of smell? Would Amir recognize her somehow? Would he know she’d been there? And what would he think if he knew?
She finally reached her car, got in quickly, and sped off. She was several miles away when she heard sirens and saw flashes of light, and firetrucks tore down the road. Good. At least someone was on their way to put out the fire. She hoped no one would get hurt and that there wouldn’t be too much damage.
She was starting to really like Amir. She may have asked him to coffee to get more info from him, but by the time they parted ways, she was hoping he’d ask her out again. He hadn’t, and she’d actually been disappointed by this.
But at least now she knew. The secret he’d mentioned? Wasn’t something illegal. It was something supernatural. Who cared about moonshine and tax evasion when there were… what? Werebears? Was that what you called them?
Of course she’d heard stories in her childhood. Who hadn’t? People that could shift into animals. Oh, maybe that was it. You called them shifters. Well, they were always portrayed as evil and all the books said if you came across one, you should kill it immediately. But who believed those stories? They were as bad as the ones that said you should stake a vampire.
This was the story. This story, of a group of men who turn into bears, and she had the video to prove it? This could win her huge awards. This was Pulitzer Prize level stuff. She thought about that for a minute as she turned into her driveway. Kora Lane, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist—the one who uncovered the truth about shifters and showed the world.
She’d be famous. She’d be rich. She’d get to cover every story she wanted and wouldn’t have to touch those she didn’t. People would love her. Value her. Esteem her. She could write books. People might even write books about her. This video was her ticket to everything.
As soon as she got in the door, she sent the video to her email, then copied it to her backup drive, then copied it onto her computer. She wanted to have many copies available, from wherever she was.
She sat at her laptop and watched it again, this time on the bigger screen. The picture looked grainier, but it was obvious what was happening. This was no Big Foot sighting video where it was all shadows, and you couldn’t tell what was really going on. You could make out faces. You could clearly see the transformation from human to bear. This was gold.
* * *
Kora watched the video again in the morning. It had all happened so late at night and she was so tired, she needed to make sure what she saw was real. As she watched, she was just as amazed as she had been the night before. They had really, truly turned into bears. Crazy.
The only thing left to do was decide what to do about it. Last night, she’d been so sure that she should release the video to the public. Fame and fortune would be hers. But then she’d thought about Amir and his friends and what that would do to them. They’d be hunted. Killed maybe. And for what? So she could be famous? That didn’t seem fair. Though, she had no real loyalty to him. She barely knew him.
She paced across her floor. What to do? Who could she even talk to about this? Not her boss. He’d make her go public. None of her friends would believe her probably. Or they’d tell her to go public, too. That’s what she would have told any of them to do. Give up all that for some guy she met twice and didn’t even know? That was crazy. So what was her hesitation? Why didn’t she want to expose him?
The only thing she could decide on was that she needed to confront Amir. Maybe he had a good explanation for all this. She got in her car and drove over to his house, wondering what she would find.
There were cars everywhere when she pulled in. The building that had been white the day before was now blackened. It still stood, though. It didn’t seem to have too much damage.
She knocked on the door and a man she didn’t recognize answered.
“Can I help you?” he asked. He looked tired and weary.
“Is Amir here?”
“Yeah.” He leaned back to shout into the house, “Amir! Come to the door!”
“Sorry about your building,” she said.
“Yeah.” He glanced out the door toward the building, then ran a hand through his dark hair.
“What’s up, Dax?” Amir said.
The man gestured to her, then held up a hand to wave to her as he walked away.
“Kora. Hi.”
“Hi. I know it’s been a long night for you, with all this.” She motioned toward the building. “But I really need to talk to you.”
He stepped out and closed the door behind him. “What’s going on?”
“Can we walk a little?” She’d worn her flats today, knowing this was her plan all along.
She waited until they were far from the house and the building and anyone’s hearing range.
“Is the building going to be okay?” she asked.
“They think so. It’s all cement block, so not much damage happened. We caught it fast. Did you see it on the news or something?”
“No, actually. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. But first, can I ask, how did the fire start?”
“Arson. Someone came in the night, poured gas around it according to the fire chief, and set it on fire.”
“Did anyone see who did it?”
He shook his head. “We were all inside asleep.”
“But then someone saw the flames and came running out?”
“Eventually. But it was too late.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “So, then, at what point did you turn into bears and chase after the arsonist?”
She’d been watching his face carefully. She wanted to catch any little response he made when she said it. But he just raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry?”
“I saw. Last night. I saw you change into a bear.”
He looked at her like she was the bizarre one. “Kora, are you okay?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Look. I realize it’s probably part of your shifter duty to keep it a secret and all, but acting like I’m the crazy one won’t work. I know what I saw.”
“And what did you see?” He crossed his arms and widened his feet in a set stance.
“I saw a woman set fire to the building. Then I saw all five of you and your friends run after her. Then, I saw all six of you turn into bears and run off into the woods.”
“And how in the world did you supposedly see all this?”
“There’s no supposedly.” Her tone grew a little sharp. She hadn’t expected him to readily admit it or to be happy that she knew, but this was getting ridiculous. “I was here. You had said something about having a secret and it made me curious. I told you, my boss thinks there’s illegal activity happening here. Moonshine specifically. I thought maybe that was your secret and I came to break in and find out the truth.”
He shook his head and set his jaw. “You were trespassing on my property and now you’re going to come here and make wild accusations?”
She took out her phone. She tapped the screen to go to the video. “Before I show you this, know that I have made multiple copies and backups.”
His eyes narrowed into a glare.
She turned the phone so they could both see, and hit play. When the video ended, she looked at him and waited. His expression was unreadable. Something of shock and panic, she thought.
“Well,” he finally said, softly, as he dropped his arms and hung his head. “Okay. So you know the truth. I can’t deny that. And you’re right. We do need to keep it a secret. Not just for our sake, but also for the sake of others. The world would go crazy if they knew shifters were real. We’d all be hunted, they’d do genetic testing, they’d try to recreate it, they’d try to make new shifters. It would be a disaster. It would destroy life as we know it. I don’t know what you intend to do with that video, but please. Don’t show anyone. Please delete all the copies and don’t tell our secret.”
She looked at him for a moment, considering. “You lied to me.”
“I know, but I had to. You want to know the truth? We do make moonshine, okay? We pay taxes, but maybe not all of them. We pay enough to avoid suspicion, though. We pay our employees, and everything on the honey side is totally legal. Moonshine isn’t illegal. It’s the taxes that get you.”
“Yeah, I know how it works. And now you expect me to take some little moonshine story when I could have the story of the century? You know this would win me the Pulitzer Prize, right? You know I would be totally famous forever? Go down in history.”
He nodded. “I’m sure you would. All I can do is ask you to please not do that. Not for me. If it were just me, I’d take the consequences of my actions and deal with it. But my friends were just trying to catch who did this. They don’t deserve to have their lives torn apart. Or any of the other shifters out there. There’s lots of us, you know.”
“There are?”
“There are. Thousands probably. And honestly, Kora. I’d be worried for your safety. If you exposed us all, they might come after you.”
“Oh, I see.” She crossed her arms and cocked her head at him. “So, now you’re going to try to scare me into silence? Why don’t you just go ahead and threaten me yourself? What will you do if I tell? Will you hunt me down and maul me? Make it look like just a bear attack?”
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t even threaten you, let alone harm you. Look, Kora, you’re going to do what you want. I get that. But know that this goes far beyond me and you or even my friends. There’s a whole world that would be affected by this. Just think about it.”
“You’re unbelievable. You think you can just lie to me, then make veiled threats and then make it seem like I’m the bad guy? I’m not the one who changes into a bear, Amir!”
He looked around quickly to make sure no one was nearby. “Keep your voice down. I know that, Kora. Like I said, I don’t want you to be hurt, but you should understand what you’re getting into. I would feel awful if I hadn’t at least warned you. If you’re going public, fine. I understand that fame is that important to you.” He shook his head and dropped his eyes. “It’s just a shame. I didn’t think you were like that, but I guess I was wrong. I really liked our coffee date the other day. I was even going to ask you out again. But now I see who you really are. Do whatever you need to do. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He turned and walked away, leaving her standing there in the woods, alone.
* * *
* * *
Kora took Amir’s words to heart that day as she considered what to do. She was pissed he’d lied to her. And that she hadn’t realized it. She should have known better. There should have been some sign or something. Great investigator she was. She walked into a den of shifters and hadn’t even noticed.
But more than that, she considered what he’d said about the others. Not that they’d come after her. That didn’t concern her much. If she went public, she’d hire a bodyguard and she’d made sure to publicize any threat. That usually worked. If she was as much in the media as she planned to be, it wouldn’t be an issue. No one would want to touch her, and they’d be more afraid of getting caught than she’d be of getting killed. And honestly, there were worse things than going down in history as a famous reporter who was then killed for releasing her story. Not that she’d get to enjoy it, but her fame would be cemented.
No, she did worry about what would happen. Would it really change the world so much? She thought it might. There was a TV show like that once, where vampires were made public and people knew about them. It caused chaos and fear and problem after problem. The vampires were controlled and uncontrollable. In the end, no one won, and they would have been better off staying hidden. Was this the same type of thing?
Would exposing the shifters create some sort of mass hysteria? Would people launch an attack on them? Or try to gather them and register them? Try to control them? She didn’t want to be responsible for the repressing of an entire people group. That was the opposite of what people like her, who believed in the truth and the freedom to express that truth, wanted to get out of life. They wanted to make the world freer and better, not to create more opportunities for control and prejudice.
This was not a decision she could make easily. She got in her car and drove. She found the highway and kept driving. For hours, she got lost in her thoughts and the road. She drove until she didn’t know where she was. She drove until her gas ran out and her bladder was full. Then she pulled into a gas station.
As she pumped her gas, she noticed a man pumping beside her. Thick hair stuck out the top of his tank top and the hair on his arms was dark. Amir was kind of like that. A bit hairy, which had to be because he was a bear. But on Amir, with his dark skin and jet black hair, it was sexy. Not so much on this man. Then a small girl ran to the man and hugged his leg. He reached down and scooped the child up with one arm.
What if this man was a shifter? These were the types of people she had to consider. People with families that might be drawn apart. People with real lives. Though, how many of these shifters hurt people when they changed? Were they like werewolves who were described as out of control and vicious? Did they mercilessly attack?
No. The more she thought about it, what she had seen last night disproved that. They seemed in control. Especially the one who’d come back. They didn’t come off as mindless. If they’d attacked the girl who set fire to their building, well, even humans might do something like that. Couldn’t blame them.
As she finished with her gas and looked one more time at the father and child, her heart gave a pang of longing. But it wasn’t because of what she might do to them if she exposed them. It was that she wanted a child of her own. And a man to love and build a life with.
Amir had said he liked her. And she was having a harder and harder time denying that she liked him. She didn’t want to fall for a story, for someone she’d met doing an interview. That made for biased reporting. A real reporter never did that. But she couldn’t get him out of her thoughts. She couldn’t sleep without thinking of him or picturing him.
She looked at her phone when it started buzzing. It was Amir calling her. She didn’t answer. When the voice mail icon dinged, she listened.
“Hey, Kora, it’s Amir. Please give me a call. I feel bad about how things were left.”
He felt bad. Why? Because he hadn’t convinced her to keep his secret? Or maybe because he still liked her a little. It probably didn’t matter now anyway. He wouldn’t like her anymore. She’d ruined it. He deserved someone who wouldn’t try to expose him and ruin his life.
She scrolled to the video and watched it again, for the hundredth time. There was Amir, shirtless and sexy, the dark hair curled on his chest. Okay, well, she couldn’t really tell given how far away she’d been and the low light, but she imagined she could see curls on his chest. And she imagined running her fingers through them. Then, he burst into a bear. She paused the screen the moment he changed.
He muscles were flexed, bulging in places and making him thick and strong. She tapped again and saw him now as a bear. He was beastly, in the best way. He stood tall, intimidating and so solid. Like nothing could harm him. Nothing could even knock him over. What would it be like to have strength like that? Or to feel that power in him?
He took off running when she let the video play, bounding along fast and swift, after the person who’d wronged him. She watched it one more time without pausing. Then she listened to his voice mail. To his smooth voice and the concern in it.
She had her answer. No matter what she told herself, or how much she pictured herself on radio and TV shows talking about her excellent story—story of the year, easily—she couldn’t bring herself to hurt him like that. She cared about him too much. She wanted him. And even if she’d ruined things so far, maybe there was a way she could fix it.
* * *
* * *
Kora sat down at her computer after she got back home. She knew exactly what had happened and had no time to waste. She opened the video in her editing software. She scrolled through it, to the point where the men ran out and changed into bears, and she went back and trimmed the video until it stopped right at the moment before the men ran out.
She watched it again and again to make sure nothing else showed. No hint of something suspicious. Then she saved the video, copied it to her phone, and removed all the old videos so that only this new one, the video of the arsonist setting fire to the building, existed. There was no evidence of any bears.
She called Davis. “I think I have something.”
“Yeah, what’s that?” he asked.
“Well, the moonshine guys. That part of the story is dead. They’re all legal, even if they are distilling somewhere on the property. But, last night someone set fire to their honey processing plant. I just so happened to be on the property at the time and got the whole thing on video.”
“You have video of the arsonist setting fire to the building?”
“I do,” she said proudly.
“And why are you just telling me this now? I’ve already sent the fire story to print.”
“Well, this would go on the web site and the news channels anyway, not in the print paper.”
He sighed. “No, but I would have mentioned it at least.”
“It’s early. You can add it in when the paper hits proofing.”
“Right. They’ll love me for that.”
“Okay, well, how do you want this video?”
“Email it. You call the cops?”
“You think I would notify the authorities before I called you?”
“That’s my girl.” He ended the call.
She sent him the video. At least she was getting some attention for this. A spot on the evening news was a far cry from Pulitzer coverage, but hey. It was more than she’d had yesterday and maybe, just maybe, she could still have Amir because of it.
She drove to the police station and asked to see her favorite detective, Foster.
He came to the front desk smiling at her. “Always a good day when you show your face around here. What can I do for you, Kora?”
“I’m here to do something for you, actually. I have some evidence you might want to take a look at.”
“Oh yeah? Come on back to my office.”
She followed him back and took the seat across from his desk.
“The fire last night,” she said. “Up in the mountains? The Bear Natural Honey place?”
“Yeah?”
“I have video of the arsonist.”
He sat forward, resting his arms on his desk. “That so?”
She took out her phone and played the video for him.
“Well, it’s not the clearest footage, but it proves arson for one. Two, I think we can have the boys make this clearer. Might actually get a positive ID out of it.”
“Good. I want her caught.”
He set down the phone and looked at her. “And just how did you get this video?”
“Oh come on now, Foster. You know a good reporter can never reveal her sources.”
He raised an eyebrow.
She sighed. “It was sent anonymously. Sorry. Couldn’t give you a name if I wanted to. And I’m sure the person would want recognition for this, don’t you think?”
“Unless they were an accomplice or trespassing.”
“If that were the case, why send the video at all?”
“Maybe. Well, anyhow. I’ll see what we can do. Thanks for bringing this to me. Send it to my email or something, okay?”
She picked up the phone, sent the email and said, “Done!”
He glanced over at his computer screen, clicked a bit, and then played the video. “Perfect. We have your permission to run this, right?”
“So long as you understand it’ll be all over the news tonight.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less.”
She stood to leave.
“Kora?”
“Yeah?”
“You will make sure they say the police are already investigating, right? Don’t make me look like an idiot over this.”
“Would I ever do that to you?”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “You haven’t yet, but you never know with you reporter types.”
She laughed. “I’ll give you full credit, Foster. Get ready for the interviews. I’m sure a crew will be out to talk to you later.”
“Perfect.”
He turned his attention back to the screen as she walked out.
* * *
* * *
Two days later, Kora knocked on Amir’s door. She hadn’t talked to him since their conversation in the woods. She hadn’t known what to say. How to apologize. How to get him to forgive her. She hoped things would blow over. But she couldn’t wait any longer.
He answered the door, shirtless, and looked surprised to see her.
“Oh, sorry.” He ran his hand over his stomach. “I wasn’t expecting you. Hi, though. How are you?”
“Good. I just, I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
“Well, come in. Don’t just stand there.”
She followed him into the living room and they sat. “I was out of line and I wasn’t thinking. I was shocked, still, I think, and I was being selfish, and I’m sorry.”
“I’m glad you’re here. I tried to call several times. I didn’t think you’d ever talk to me again.”
“I didn’t know what to say.”
“Well, I want to thank you. The video you sent… it really helped. The police caught the woman who did it.”
“Did they? I hadn’t heard. I’m glad. Did they find out what her motive was?”
He nodded. “Yes, and I’m not surprised. There’s another, umm, clan, nearby. They’ve been getting in our way for a while now. They also sell honey and make moonshine and they’ve been trying to run us out of business. So, they decided to take things a little more extreme this time and burn down our processing building.”
“A rival clan?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“What do you mean ‘this time’?”
“Well, they tried to outsell us at Mason’s, not too long ago they poisoned an entire hive of bees, and now this.”
“What are you doing about it?” she asked.
“We haven’t decided yet.”
“Can’t you just go confront these guys and beat them up a little?”
“Well…” He chuckled. “That’s part of the problem. They’re not guys. They’re women.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. But the cops are on it now. We’re trying to see if we can gather evidence for the hive, too.”
“That’s just so… low. I mean, it’s honey. There can’t be that much competition.”
“It’s not really about the honey. They’re just in competition with us in general.”
“Want me to sneak onto their property and film them doing something illegal?”
He pulled his mouth into a smile. “Maybe.” He moved close to her and held her gaze. “Kora.” He picked up her hand and held it. “You kept our secret. My secret. You didn’t have to. But you did. And I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
Her heart raced as she looked into his eyes. Her stomach fluttered and she wanted so badly to reach out and touch his bare chest. Why did he have to be bare chested?
“To be honest, I almost didn’t,” she said. “I kept thinking about having the story of the year and how I’d go down in history as the one to bring the truth to light. How I’d win a Pulitzer Prize for journalism. But I kept thinking of you. I thought of all the others, too, and what it might do to the world, like you said. And that mattered, but not as much as what it might do to you. To be honest, I’ve started to have feelings for you. I know that I’ve ruined it now and you have no reason to want to get to know me, but—”
He pressed his lips to hers. It was so sudden, her eyes widened in surprise, then they closed and she relaxed into the kiss. Their mouths moved together and all she could think was, he’s kissing me. He’s actually kissing me, which means he can’t hate me. I still have a shot.
She pulled back a few inches. “Can you ever forgive me for being so selfish?”
“But you weren’t. You didn’t do it, even if you had the thought.”
“But part of the reason I kept the secret was because I wanted to win you back. And that was selfish, too.”
“Well”—he kissed her again—“I kinda like that part of your selfishness. Maybe I want to be won. It’s been a very long time since I felt this way about someone. I was nearly heartbroken after our last conversation. Then you wouldn’t return my calls, and I thought it was over. I thought I’d scared you off. It’s happened before. It happens all the time.”
“That’s sad. I’m sorry you have to deal with that. But, your secret is safe with me. I’ll do whatever I can to protect it because it means protecting you and your friends.”
She leaned forward, eager to be kissing him again. But they were seated too far apart and leaning forward to kiss wasn’t enough. She wanted more. She wanted all of him, in fact. And she wanted him now. If his chest and stomach looked like a washboard, she could only imagine what the rest of him looked like.
“So, do you have a private bedroom?” she asked.
His lips formed a slow smile. “I do.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.”
“Then, let me show you.”
* * *
* * *
He took her hand and led her up the stairs. In the hall, they turned into the second door on the right. He closed the door and locked it.
“Don’t you have a tie or some sort of sign you put on your doors when you have a girl in your room?” She sat on the bed.
He stalked toward her, his eyes hungry. He bent down to kiss her, then pulled her to her feet.
“One second.” He went to a stereo by the bed and started the music. “That’s better.” It was something with a beat, but not too heavy. Good rhythm, though, which would come in handy later.
Now that he had her standing, he ran his hands up and down her body. He stood back to look at her.
“You are a beautiful woman.”
“And you haven’t even seen all of me yet.”
He reached behind her to unzip her skirt and tugged it down until it made a pool at her feet. Then he slipped her blouse over her head. He looked again and nodded.
He kissed her and caressed her body. She was starting to get antsy. She reached up to unhook her own bra, but he grabbed her hand and stopped her.
“Oh no.” He flicked his tongue along her jaw. “That’s my job and we’re going to do what I say now.”
She let her hands fall. “Okay. Am I allowed to touch you, then?” she asked with a playful tone.
“Yes. But not below the waist. Yet.”
She touched everything she could, running her hands along the muscles in his back and over his stomach. She pinched his nipples and bit along his neck. She grew impatient again and moved to unzip his pants.
“No.” He caught her hand again.
“You have to get them off.”
“No.”
He turned her around so that her back pressed against his chest and hard body. He ran his hands over her, stopping to slide under her bra for a moment, under her panties for a shorter moment, then back up and along her stomach.
“You are driving me crazy,” she said, squirming.
“That’s the point.”
He slipped one bra strap down over her shoulder. Then he cupped her bare breast and flicked her nipple gently. She moaned and pressed her hips back against him, but he moved away from her.
“Stop it. Stay still.”
“I can’t help it,” she said.
He took both her hands in his and bent her arms so that they were pressed against her back. It was making her so hot to be teased like this. She was dizzy with it, felt like she’d pass out before he entered her. If they ever got to that part.
He slipped down the other bra strap and unhooked her bra so that it fell to the floor.
“Now,” he said. “What do you want?”
“I want to feel you.”
He released one hand and she rubbed it over his hard cock through his pants. She unzipped his pants, half expecting him to stop her again. But he allowed it and she managed to one-handedly get him free of his underwear. She stroked him, feeling his length.
He pulled her panties down and bent her forward so that her hands were on the bed. He reached around to her pussy and slid his finger inside her. She almost lost it right then, but bit her lip and held out for more. He moved in and out of her slowly, pausing to spread her juices around and make her wet all over.
“I want you to do something for me.”
“Anything,” she breathed.
“Get on your knees.”
She turned and dropped down. He didn’t have to ask or command. Before she was fully in position, she took him into her mouth, stroking as she sucked him and licked him.
He made a deep growl and she went even wetter. He ran his fingertips along her shoulder and neck, tangled her hair in them and massaged her scalp. He pulled her head back to stop her.
“Now. My turn. Stand.”
He dropped to his knees and pushed her legs apart. She moved her feet to keep standing, but found it very difficult when he put his tongue on her. He flicked her clit and moved his finger in and out. She tried to pull back, to stop him, but it was too late.
She reached down and dug her fingers into his hair as she came all over his face. He smiled up at her and held up one finger.
“Let’s see how many more we can get,” he said.
He lay her down on the bed and rolled her to her side. He pushed his pants down and stepped out of them, and she finally got a full view of his extremely fit body. Everything about him was large. Everything.
He knelt with his legs on either side of hers and brought one of her legs up. He held her knee up with her other leg straight. She’d never tried this position before and it seemed unusual. But then he leaned over her and his cock was so close to her pussy, she moaned in anticipation.
He rubbed the tip against her, circling her clit and slipping it in a tiny bit before taking it back out. From this angle, he had full access to every part of her. He gripped her ass tight and pushed into her a little farther.
“Amir,” she moaned. “Stop teasing me and fuck me already.”
He laughed. “No.” Then he pulled out completely.
She groaned in frustration. He teased her more, dipping in and out of her, but never entering her fully. He rubbed her clit while making shallow thrusts.
She started to get lightheaded again and the rush was right there. She bit her lip and moaned. Then, suddenly and forcefully, he thrust into her hard and deep. She came as he entered, crying out loudly in the surprise and the rush of bliss. He leaned down to kiss her and held up two fingers.
“You’re driving me so wild,” she said. “I can’t take it.”
“You’ll take it.” He smacked her ass. “You’ll take everything I give you.”
She moaned again and thought she would bite through her lip. She gripped the sheets so tight, they started to pull off the bed.
Amir kept her knee up and thrust into her several times, deep and hard, like she liked it. He circled around and moved faster and faster until she cried out loudly again and he held up three fingers.
“Ahh,” she cried out. “I don’t think I can take anymore.”
“At least one more.”
He pulled out of her and rubbed the tip of his cock all around her, getting her wet again. He stuck his finger in and out a few times, then slid into her slowly. He pulled backed and pushed in slow, slower. Then he did something she’d never felt before.
He took his wet pinky and circled it around her ass, letting the tip press in ever so slightly. She was surprised by the sensation and surprised even more at how she liked it. She moved her hips back to press her ass against his pinky. He slid it in farther and as he moved his cock in and out of her pussy and his pinky in and out of her ass, she came hard and slow. It was a long orgasm. Longer than she’d ever had before in her life.
She lay still on the bed, unable to move. He thrust into her a few times hard and fast and then he fell into shudders beside her.
She looked up at him, amazed. “The first time I saw you, I thought you’d be a good lay, but holy crap. I never imagined this. If I’d have known, I wouldn’t have waited weeks to sleep with you.”
He grinned and kissed her. “Glad you liked it.”
“Do me a favor?” she said.
“What’s that?”
“Do me again.”
He laughed and let out a sigh. “Give me a few minutes to recuperate.”
“I don’t think so.”
She moved down to take him in her mouth again, until he got hard. It didn’t take nearly as long as she thought it would. Then she slid up his body, positioned herself over him, and slid him inside her.
Now that she was in control, she didn’t waste much time. She may not have drawn things out slow like he did, but he felt so good inside her, she didn’t want to take it slow. She slammed her hips into him again and again until they both came one more time.
“Can we rest now?” he asked. “You might kill me if you make me cum one more time.”
“Okay, but only for a little while.”
He turned on his side and pulled her close, then kissed her a little while they lay tangled in each other.
“You’re wild,” he breathed into her ear. “I like that.”
“You’re the wild one.” She growled at him and bit his earlobe.
When finally, she got up later to go home, she found a message waiting from Davis. She listened to the voice mail, then looked at Amir with a grin and squealed.
“What?” he asked.
“That was my boss. He just gave me a raise and promoted me to senior journalist because of the story I did and the video.”
“Excellent. You did good work.”
“Yeah.” She chuckled. “He actually said, ‘someone willing to trespass and break and enter just to get a story deserves to be promoted.’ Which means, in Davis language, that he’s happy with my work.”
“I’m glad.” Amir reached out and hugged her waist, kissing her stomach as he sat on the bed. “I changed my mind,” he said. “Don’t leave. Stay and make love to me again. We need to celebrate.”
“Again?” She dropped her purse and leaned down to kiss him. “Four times in one night wasn’t enough?”
“I can never get enough of you, wild one.”